Flobian bohe



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FLORIAN noun, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

FABRIC FOR PACKING MEAT, 80C.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 229,471, dated June 29, 1880.

Application filed November 20, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FLORIAN ROBE, of thecity, county, and State of New York, have in-' vented a new and useful Improvement in Fabrics for Packing Meat, &c., which improvement is fully set forth in the following specification.

The aim of my invention is to obtain a cheap and durable fabric for packing meat, and particularly sausage-meat, or other moist goods, which shall prevent the exudation of moisture from the meat, thereby preventing the package from molding, and also protect the meat against the injurious effect of air.

It consists in a fabric prepared by coating the same with a composition of gum-shellac, gum-sanda-rach, suet, wax, and india-red or other pigment, all combined or intimately mixed together by means of a solution of an alkali in water.

For general purposes these ingredients are mixed together in the following proportions: gum-shellac, one and a half pound; gum-sandarach, one ounce; suet, eight ounces; wax, eight ounces; pigment, one-half ounce; bicarbonate of soda,.four ounces; water, one gallon.

In carrying out my invention, I dissolve the gum-shellac and the gum-sandarach with bicarbonate of soda, borax, or other suitable alkali liquefied in water, using about four ounces of the solvent to one gallon of water. I then melt the suet, together with the wax, in a suitable vessel, mixtherewith the dissolved gums, and add the pigment to the mixture.

The composition thus obtained I apply to the surface of linen or other textile fabric by a brush or other suitable means, so that the fabric becomes coated therewith, and w hen this coating has dried the fabric is ready. for use.

In applying the fabric to use, I make it up into bags of appropriate size and shape, into which I pack the meat. I then close the bags, by sewing or otherwise, and apply the composition to their seams or joints, so that they obtain a continuous coat of the composition.

Another way of using my invention is to apply the composition to the fabric after the meat or other goods have been packed therein.

The fabric prepared according to my invention is water-proof and air-tight, and hence it is practically adapted to the preservation of meat. The qualities named are due to the gum-shellac, assisted by the gum-sandarach; but the latter is used mainly to increase the gloss or luster of the coating composition. By the suet and wax the composition is kept soft or elastic, and it follows that the coating upon the fabric is not liable to become cracked or broken by bending the latter, or by a change of temperature, which, obviously, is favorable to the durability of the fabric. Either mutton or beef suet may be used. The pigment used is intended to give the coating a fixed color, and when the fabric is used for packing meat I employ india-red.

It will be perceived that the ingredients which I use are all practically non-volatile, are readily obtainable, and comparatively inexpensive, and the result is that the fabric is cheap and not liable to deterioration by the evaporation of any of the elements of its coatmg.

I am aware that every element of my improved coating is old, and that all have been heretofore used in various combinations for purposes of preservatives, varnishes, paints, and water-proof coatin gs but they have usually been combined by means of a volatile solvent, such as alcoholic spirit or light hydrocarbon oils, the evaporation of which would render inefficient, as a preservative covering, a fabric coated therewith.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The within-described fabric for packing meat and other moist goods, prepared by coating the same with a composition of gum-shellac, gum-sandarach, suet, wax, and a pigment, all combined or intimately mixed by means of a suitable aqueous solution of bicarbonate of soda or borax, as set forth.

2. The within-described water-proof compound, the same consisting of gum-shellac, gum-sandarach, suet, Wax, apigment, and a suitable alkaline solvent, and in the proportions specified, for the objects set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 12th day of November, 1879.

FLORIAN ROHE.

[L. s] Witnesses CHAS. F. BAUERDORF,

GHAs. WAHLERS. 

